Our First Christmas

by Lindsay Paige

  While Presley was shopping alone, I managed to find her a present. I didn’t really know what to get her, but I think she’s really going to like the two things I bought. If all works well, I’m going to really like it too. She’s getting a gift card for some lingerie and another for shoes. I picked up a blank card too, so I can write something. Tell her how much she means to me. Tell her how thankful I am to know her and to have her in my life. Just a few simple words to let her know.

  “I need to go to the store,” Pops says from his recliner.

  “Why?” He doesn’t need to be out and about, walking around for hours at a time.

  Pops glares at me. “Are you asking because you think I need your permission, Levi?”

  “No, sir,” I answer quickly.

  “Good. I need to go to the store, so I can fix Christmas breakfast for Presley. We can go tomorrow.” There is a not-up-for-further-discussion tone in his voice.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Presley squeezes my hand and Pops says he’s heading to bed. When I stand to follow him up, just in case he needs any help, he tells me to sit back down. I plop back down, straining my ears to listen. After a few seconds, I hear his door shut.

  “What else do y’all do on Christmas day? Besides breakfast, I mean. Do you do anything on Christmas Eve?” Presley asks as she moves to lay down with her head in my lap.

  “We have dinner on Christmas Eve and usually watch movies all day. On the big day, we have breakfast, open presents, drink hot chocolate with little marshmallows in it, and hang out together. Nothing special. When I was little, even my parents had as many presents as I did. We would sit in a line on the couch with all our gifts at our feet and we would take turns, opening one present at a time. Every year, I begged Mom to let me start.”

  Presley turns to lay on her back, so she can look at me. “Did she let you?”

  “Of course. It was me, her, and then Pops. Holidays were always fun with Mom around.” I look at the TV before Presley grabs my attention once more.

  “Are they starting to be fun again?” she asks softly.

  “Between you and Pops? Tons of fun.” I grin.

  ~

  I keep a careful eye on Pops as we walk around the grocery store. We’re getting food for dinner tonight, breakfast tomorrow, and anything else we will need. He hasn’t appeared to be tired yet though. Somehow, I’ve managed to keep my mouth shut from asking how he’s feeling. Anytime I get the urge to ask, either Pops gives me a small glare or Presley squeezes my hand and asks me a question about something else.

  After about two hours and once we’ve paid for everything, we head back home. My dad is insisting on cooking tonight and tomorrow. Apparently, I can’t get the job done as well as he can. I guess it will be good to give him something to do other than sitting around watching us cook. I just hope he doesn’t over do it.

  “He’s fine, Levi,” Presley says quietly.

  I look back at her, wishing she hadn’t caught me looking towards the kitchen from the couch in the living room, which is where we are. Pops has just started cooking supper.

  “I was just checking, Smarty.”

  “Well, you’re supposed to be watching the movie.” She gives me a sweet, little kiss. “With me,” she adds. Smarty lightly trials her fingers over my knee and then up my thigh. “Don’t you want to take a nap?”

  “You’re a terrible girl, Smarty.”

  Presley giggles. “I mean an actual nap, Levi. Get your mind out of the gutter for once.” She shakes her head and I laugh.

  Standing, I grab her hand and call out to my dad. “We’re going to take a nap, Pops.”

  “Okay. It’ll be ready in about an hour and a half.”

  We head upstairs, and then lay on the bed without worrying about getting under the covers. I gather her in my arms and kiss her softly. Presley’s lips buzz slightly against mine as she hums from my kiss. I can’t help my smirk. Pulling away, that lower lip juts forward into that little pout and I chuckle.

  “Let’s take a nap, Smarty,” I whisper, closing my eyes.

  After a second, she wiggles slightly in my arms. “I don’t want to take a nap anymore,” she says just as quietly. “I want to take a nap.”

  I smile, but I don’t open my eyes. “Too bad, Smarty. Now, let’s go to sleep for a bit.”

  A warm huff of air hits my neck before she nuzzles into me. My last thought before I doze off is how she’s such a crazy girl, but she’s all mine.

  ~

  The aroma of delicious food wakes me up two seconds before Pops knocks softly on my door and steps inside.

  “Supper’s ready, Levi,” he whispers.

  I nod and he leaves. Leaning back to get a better glimpse of Presley, I see her pretty red lips are slightly parted and her eyelashes are fanned across her cheek. I run the back of my fingers over the side of her face and then kiss her forehead.

  “Time to wake up, Presley,” I say quietly. Surprisingly, she stirs, rolling away from me to do that cute little stretch she does before turning to face me once more with a smile on her face.

  “That was a good nap.”

  “Better than our other nap?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

  Presley doesn’t change her features as she tells me, “Way better.”

  She rolls over and gets out of bed, leaving the spot next to me devastatingly empty. I get up as well, walk up behind Presley, and grab her hips, pulling her against me. I press my lips to her neck. She tilts her head and I love that she did that, so I slowly swirl my tongue against her skin.

  With my lips brushing her skin, I say, “You’re going to regret saying that.” I let go of her as soon as I’ve said it and step around her, leaving her behind in my room as I go downstairs. Pops has all our food set along the counter. “Looks good, Pops.”

  “Thanks, son. Where’s Presley?”

  “Right here,” she chirps as she comes to stand beside me.

  “Let’s eat then.”

  Pops fixed our usual Christmas Eve dinner which consists of ham, a bunch of side dishes, and an apple pie. Everything smells so good and it all looks delicious. Once we fill our plates up, we sit at the table to eat. Pops clears his throat and then speaks.

  “I have really enjoyed having you both here. It means a lot to me that y’all are spending your time with me.” Pops focuses on me. “I’m proud of you, Levi.” He pauses before he looks between me and Presley. “I love you both. Let’s eat.”

  “We love you too, Pops.” I give him a half smile.

  “Yes, we do, Victor, and there isn’t any other place we rather be.”

  Pops smiles, nods, and then we eat. There’s small talk, and of course, Pops has to share stories from my childhood, all with some level of embarrassment included. It’s tons of fun though, and they laugh almost the entire time. Afterwards, Presley helps me clean up while Pops goes to take a bath. I’m washing and Smarty is rinsing. She bumps into my hip and I look down at her.

  “You are looking very sexy, Captain Carr.”

  Smirking, I say, “Of course, I am.” Smarty giggles and shakes her head. I kiss her temple just to touch her in some way. “I love you,” I add.

  Presley grins. “Eh, I guess I love you too.”

  Chapter Seven

  Presley

  I roll over and realize that I’m tangled in blankets.

  “You’re a cover hog,” Levi whispers. I smile as I open my eyes and see his piercing blue eyes.

  “It’s Christmas morning, you can’t be mean to me,” I whine.

  Levi chuckles and brushes my hair away from my face. I finally untangle from the covers and share them with Levi. I curl up against his side and he kisses my head.

  “So, what’s on the agenda for today?”

  “Well, Pops will want to fix us breakfast and then we’ll open gifts. After that, I’m hoping for a nap with you.”

  “Well, you know,” I look at up at him. “We could take a quick nap right now.” I run my fingers up and down his ches
t, lightly.

  “Smarty, don’t tease,” Levi hisses through his teeth.

  I sit up and smirk. “I’m not.” I run my hand down his chest to his waistband of his pajama bottoms. His breath catches as I begin to stroke his hardness. Levi groans and throws his head back.

  I bite my lip to hold back my smile and stroke faster. Levi grabs the back of my neck and pulls me down to his lips and hungrily kisses me. He pushes my hand away from him and breaks our kiss momentarily as he pulls my night shirt over my head. He guides me onto my back and kisses down my neck.

  His tongue teases my breast and I need to remember to breathe. His teeth graze my nipple and my pulse races.

  “Levi,” I sigh.

  “Shh, Smarty.” He slips his two fingers in me and I moan.

  “Oh God, Levi.” I rock hard against him and he nips my neck. I feel my body tighten and I rock faster. Just when I’m ready to release, Levi pulls his fingers out of me.

  “You need to be quieter, Presley.” He gets up and grabs a condom from his nightstand drawer and rolls it on. He quickly settles back over me and guides himself into me.

  I will never get over the sensation of Levi inside me. It’s not just sexual, it’s emotional too. I love the way he makes me feel and I can’t imagine anyone else making me feel this special.

  He rocks harder into me and I can’t do anything but say his name over and over again. He looks deep into my eyes as I arch my back and wrap my legs around him tighter. He kisses my lips and bites my bottom lip.

  When he releases my lip, he pushes deeper into me and I can’t help his name escaping from my lips again. I close my mouth as tight as I can, so that I don’t scream out, but it’s so hard as Levi pounds harder.

  He cradles his face in the crook of my neck and bites. I dig my nails into his back as we both release at the same time.

  “I love you,” I huff, trying to regain my normal breathing.

  He kisses my lips and smiles. “I love you. Now, I’m going to clean up and I will meet you downstairs.”

  I can’t help the smile on my face. This has been the most relaxed I have been in a long time. Sure, I miss being with Trevor on this morning, and my parents, but being here is where I want to be.

  I lay there for a little while longer, thinking about what this morning will bring and I hope that Levi likes his gift. I know Victor will, but maybe Levi won’t like that collectible. I shake the thought out of my head. At that time, my phone begins to ring. It’s Trevor.

  “Merry Christmas, Twin.” Trevor sounds really happy on the other end and I smile.

  “Merry Christmas to you too.”

  We begin to chat about what is happening at our Dad’s house, which is nothing really. Mom has been working and Trevor hadn’t seen her yet. Dad moved into the city after Trevor graduated high school, and Trevor said there was more to do there, but he is still on his own.

  “I miss you too.” I say sadly.

  “Are you having fun?”

  I go into detail on all the happenings at Levi and Victor’s and the fun we’ve been having.

  “Good. Well, I have to go. I love ya,” Trevor huffs in defeat. I still think he thought I would change my mind and come home, but I’m not going to come home. I’m already home.

  “I love you too.”

  After we hang up, I get ready for the day. The house is filling up with delicious smells and my stomach rumbles. After a quick shower, I decide to give Levi another present. He loves my hair up and very little makeup and that’s exactly what I do. The bite mark on my neck isn’t bad, just a little red. No one will really notice.

  I curl the end of my ponytail, put on a quick coat of mascara and lip gloss, and that’s it. I look in the mirror and thought that I look so plain and I don’t know why Levi likes this look. I just shrug, slip on my jeans and t-shirt, and head down to the guys.

  “Wow, you guys really know how to get a girl fat.” The table is full of food. Every breakfast food you could think of is on that table.

  “Presley, you look stunning.” Victor stops what he is doing as he stares at me.

  “Aw, thanks, Victor, but I don’t have any makeup on.”

  “Amanda didn’t wear all that stuff either, and you shouldn’t. I think you’re beautiful.” He walks over and hugs me. I think about the last time my dad said I was beautiful. I can’t even remember.

  “Thank you, Victor.” I feel a lump in my throat, but I swallow it down. “Let’s dig in, guys.”

  Levi kisses my temple as he pulls my chair out for me. We begin to eat and the food is so good.

  “I’m so full.” My jeans are tight because I couldn’t stop eating.

  “I have to agree with you, Smarty,” Levi says.

  “Let’s leave the dishes and open presents,” Victor suggests and heads into the living room. Victor sits in his chair and Levi and I sit on the couch.

  “I meant to tell you, Presley, that you need to be careful with that curling iron of yours.”

  “Why do you say that, Victor?” I didn’t think my curling iron is that big of a deal.

  “That red mark on your neck. Looks like you burnt yourself. You need to be more careful.”

  I gasp slightly, and cover the bite mark that Levi had given me this morning. I know that my face is turning red and Levi is trying not to laugh.

  “Um, yeah, I will be more careful,” I finally am able to choke out of embarrassment.

  “Let’s see what we have.” Levi gets up and grabs the stockings off the mantle.

  It’s the first time I notice them. There are four: Victor, Amanda, Levi, and me. Each of them are full. Levi hands me the one with my name on it and I smile. I feel like a real part of the family. When I looked inside, it’s full of my favorite candy bar. Just candy bars.

  “If I wasn’t so full, I would dive into this stocking right now,” I moan with pleasure.

  “I agree,” Levi says. I look into his stocking and it’s full of 3 Musketeers candy bars.

  “Is that your favorite candy bar?” I didn’t know that about Levi.

  “Yep. Mom would get me one every single time we went to the store. If I was good, of course.” He has a sad smile on his face.

  “Levi, let’s get to the gifts.” Victor smiles at his son and Levi gets back up. I was able to sneak down last night, and put the box under the tree for Levi. I can’t wait for him to open it.

  Levi hands me a box and two cards. He hands Victor two cards. Then he picks up the box and cards for himself.

  I open my box from Victor, and inside is a stunning green cashmere sweater.

  “Do you like it?” Victor asks.

  “I love it. Thank you so much.” I open my cards. One is from Victor with a gift card in it to the mall in the city. The other is from Levi. It has two gift cards in it, one to a lingerie store and one to a shoe store. Inside he wrote: A gift for you and me. I roll my eyes at him and he chuckles.

  Victor loves both of his gift cards that Levi and I got him, and he’s excited to go hunting again. Levi’s face grows worried. I know he is thinking about his dad alone in the woods. I just pat his hand, and hope that he realizes that Victor won’t push himself too fast, too soon.

  It’s Levi turn, and I can feel my hands shake a bit when he unwraps his gift. I’m really hoping that he likes it. When he lifts the lid, he just stares at it and doesn’t say anything.

  “Do you hate it?” I finally ask.

  Victor asks what it is because he can’t see it. Levi gingerly lifts it up from the case and shows his dad.

  “Smarty, I love it. It’s awesome. Thank you so much.”

  I breathe a sigh of relief as he inspects it. Victor and him look at every inch of the Sidney Crosby hockey stick before putting it back in the case. I stare at the Christmas tree, enjoying the conversation between Levi and his dad, when I notice a present inside the tree. It’s a small box just tucked inside a branch.

  “Hey, there’s a present in the tree.” I go to reach for it.

&n
bsp; “No!” Levi shouts and jerks me back onto the couch with a little bit of force that causes me to gasp.

  “Levi James Carr. Let go of her right now, and don’t ever do that again.” Victor jumps up, and towers over Levi on the couch. His dad’s voice is stern and lethal.

  “I’m so sorry, Presley. I didn’t mean to do that.” Levi looks at me and I think there are tears in his eyes.

  “It’s…It’s okay. I didn’t mean to upset you.” I rub my wrist that Levi jerked on and stumble on my words. Actually, I’m not sure why he is upset.

  Victor inspects my wrist and explains. “Every year, on Christmas, I buy my wife a charm for her bracelets.” When he is satisfied that my wrist is fine, he heads over to the mantle. I look over at Levi and he has his head down with his hands folded. I scoot over to him and grab his hand.

  “I’m so sorry,” he whispers in my ear.

  “It’s fine. I swear.”

  Victor comes back over and hands a box to me. It looks like an antique. When I open it there are three charm bracelets in there. Two are full and the third one only has a few charms on it. I see the tag on the the clasp and it says “Tiffany’s”.

  “Oh my, these are Tiffany’s charm bracelets.”

  Victor sits in his chair. “When we first got married, we had just graduated college, and we were so broke. I had just started on the factory floor and Amanda had started teaching. When Christmas came around, I wanted to get her something special and she had always talked about a charm bracelet. She thought of it as a timeline of your life on your wrist, and it was something that you could show off. So, I saved every penny I could grasp and headed into the city. I bought the bracelet and that heart charm” He points to the large heart charm on the first bracelet. “I hid it in the tree for her to find. She cried so much that year when she saw that blue box.” Victor closes his eyes, thinking about the memory.

  “Every year since then, Dad hides the present in the tree. When I was little, I would help her search the tree for it. The year she died, I purchased the third bracelet and Dad keeps adding to it.” Levi’s voice is sad.

  I look at the charms. There are hearts, an L, V, A, a baby carriage, a flower, and numerous other ones. The one that confuses me is the number eight.